Container



Sept. 1, 1959 K. 'r. BUTTERY CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 31, 1957 1 INVENTOR. K ennefh T. Buiferq 1G K. T. BUTTERY Sept. 1, 195 9 CONTAINER Filed July 31, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'INVENTOR.

United States CONTAINER Kenneth T. Buttery, Kalamazoo, Mich., assignor to Sutherland Paper Company, Kalamazoo, Mich.

This invention relates to containers which may be stored and shipped in collapsed form and readily erected for use.

The main objects of this invention are:

First, to provide a container which may be shipped and stored in collapsed form and quickly set up and m. when set up is waterproof there being no openings therein.

Second, to provide a container which may be formed of fiberboard stock and which when set up is capable of withstanding substantial torsional and other stresses permitting its use as a container for relatively heavy material.

Third, to provide a container having these advantages which may be economically produced both in the matter 9 of material and production.

Objects relating to details and economies of the invention will appear from the description to follow. The invention is defined and pointed out in the claims.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a container embodying my invention in erected position.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section on a line corresponding to line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section on a line corresponding to line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating one of the initial steps in erecting the container.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the inner side of the blank from which the container is formed.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the container in its knock-down or collapsed form.

The embodiment of my invention illustrated is formed of a single sheet of fiberboard or like material which is waterproof when the container is designed to receive wet material, although it should be understood that the containers are advantageous for use for any material. However, in the embodiment illustrated there are no openings in the erected container for escape of water or other liquid.

The container comprises a bottom 1, opposed first and second pairs of walls 2-2 and 33. It will be understood that the terms first and second are used in this description and in the claims to identify and clearly distinguish the parts. These walls are swingably or hingedly secured to the bottom which is of rectangular shape by the hinging scores 4 and 5 respectively.

The walls are connected at their end edges by corner members 6 connected thereto by the hinging or folding scores 7 and have diagonally folding scores 8. The side walls 2 have strips 9 on their upper or swinging edges connected thereto by the severing or weakened lines 10 such as lines of spaced perforations.

The second pair of walls 3-3 are provided with inner wall members 11 hingedly secured thereto by the score atent 0 "ice lines 12. These inner wall members 11 have foldable stop engaging or locking members 13 on their swinging edges. These members '13 being foldable along lines 14 a series of slits being illustrated.

With the blank in extended form shown in Fig. 5 adhesive, conventionally illustrated at 15, is applied to the strips 9 throughout the length thereof and adhesive, conventionally illustrated at 17, is applied to the sections of the corner members hinged to the walls 3. With the adhesive so applied the walls 2 and their strip portions 9 folded inwardly upon the bottom and the corner members folded upon the inner sides of the walls 3 and are adhesively bonded thereto resulting in the collapsed container shown in Fig. 6 which is the condition in which the containers are stored and shipped to the users or wherever they are to be set up.

It will be noted that the ends 16 of the strips terminate in spaced relation to the hinging scores 5 for the walls 3 serve as stops or lock members as will appear.

To erect the container the inner edges of the Walls 2 are grasped desirably at an end of the strips 9 and pulled upwardly as is indicated in Fig. 4 which results in severing the walls 2 along the severing lines 10 leaving the strips 9 extending across the bottom in spaced relation to the walls 2 and with the ends of the strips in spaced relation to the hinging scores 5 as has been pointed out. The second pair of walls 3 are then swung to erected position and the inner wall members 11 folded inwardly over the corner members and pressed against the outer Wall members 3 which results in end flaps 13 snapping into locking engagement with the stops 16 constituted by the ends of the strips 9. This locks the parts in erected position and results in a container which has no openings permitting the escape of liquid from the container.

Both the flaps 13 and the strips 9 constitute reinforcing elements resulting in a relatively rigid structure, that is, rigid as compared to the stock used. If desired the container can be repeatedly collapsed and erected.

The container is adapted for many uses, among them being the storage of articles in freezers where leakp-roof containers are especially desirable to avoid or prevent contamination of one product by drippings from another kind of product.

I have not illustrated certain adaptations or modifications in the matter of proportions or the like as it is believed this disclosure will enable those skilled in the art to embody or adapt the invention as may be desired.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An erectable container unit of fiberboard cut and scored to provide a rectangular bottom, first and second pairs of opposed walls hingedly connected to opposed edges of the bottom, corner members hingedly connected to the adjacent end edges of said first and second pairs of walls and diagonally scored for folding, the first pair of opposed walls having strips on their swinging edges having severable connections thereto facilitating severing along the upper edges of said first pair of walls, said first pair of walls and said strips being collapsed flatwise upon the bottom and said strips thus collapsed fixedly to the bottom with the end edges thereof in spaced relation to the hinging connections of the second pair of walls to the bottom, said corner member when said first pair of walls are so collapsed upon the bottom and secured thereto through said strips being in overlapping relation to the second pair of walls and the outer sections of said corner members being secured flatwise thereon, inner wall members hingedly secured to the upper edges of said second pair of walls and foldable inwardly upon the inner sides thereof in overlapping relation to said corner members, said inner wall members having locking flaps in"th i'r swinging edg'e's' extending from end to end there of and disposed 'upo'n "the'bottom whenthe'wallsmre in" erected position with their side edges in abutting engagement with the end edges of said strips, said strips constifut'i'ng"rinforcingistripsforreinfo'reing said bottom;

arrot wailsana' said" stripsbein g' collapsed fla t'vvis'e'upon" the bottom and said strips thus collapsed fiiedly to V the" bottenrwitnflieend edges"'thr6f in spaced relation to th'hin'ging connections of the'se'c'ond pair of w mama bottom,innef'wall niernbers"'hingedly'seeiirdto"t e 'up per edges of said second pair of'walls"and fold'able in tior'i'to said corner members, said"inni' walhnienib er's" e eto facilitating" severing" 3. An erectable container unit of fiberboard cut and scored "to provide a' rectangular bottom; first and' second' pairs of opposed Walls hingedly connected to opposed edges of the bottom, the first pair of opposed Walls having strips on their swinging edges having severable connections thereto facilitating severing along the upper edges of said first pair of walls, said first pair of walls and said strips being collapsed flat-wise upon the bottom and said strips thus colIap'sed'fiXdIy to the bottom with the endedges thereof in spaced relation to the hinging connections of the 'secon'd'pai'r'"of wallsto the-bottom; inner Wall members hing'e'dlysecuredto the upper edges of said second pairof'w'alls and foldable'inwardly upon the inner sides thereof in overlapping relation to said corner members, said inner "wall rn enib'er's having locking flaps on their swinging edges extending from end to end thereof and disposed upon the bottom when the walls are in erected position with their side edges in abutting engagement with the end edges of said strips, said strips, constituting reinforcing means for saidbottorn paralleb to and substantially spaced fromsaid first pair of Walls" and from each other.

kferenesCitedin th'e'file' o'f "th i's' patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

